


oh sleep, oh rest

by starlalalala



Series: no dawn [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Dark God Ryan, Gen, Possession, Sky Factory AU, but I am working on it, minecraft au, no happy ending (yet)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 08:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13050378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlalalala/pseuds/starlalalala
Summary: The Dark God was gone. Ryan was free.





	oh sleep, oh rest

**Author's Note:**

> First published ah fic! Very representative of my love of angst, hurt, and freewood. Title from 'Rest' by Family Band. Cross-posted from my tumblr, starlalalala.tumblr.com

Ryan woke slowly, feeling like he’d been asleep for days. His eyelids fluttered before they were finally able to stay open, and that’s when he noticed the cold stone floor against his cheek, the dim flickering light cast from a single torch in the large room, and the heavy smell of rotting meat.

He forced himself to his hands and knees. His arms shook. The movement and smell made him gag -and then suddenly there were hands on him, gently helping him to his feet. Ryan tried to speak but he was hushed, and dizziness forced his eyes shut as he was walked to some surface and sat down.

When Ryan opened his eyes again, he looked down at his own body. He was worryingly thin, his kilt held up only by his belt. His ribs were almost visible through his vest. He felt as small as a child, sitting on what now seemed like an oversized-

_Throne._

There was a light chuckle as he gasped.

“Remember, lovely Ryan?” It was hard to make out details in the dim light, but it was Gavin standing tall in front of him, his creeperskin clothes partially covered by a deep green cloak that Ryan had gotten him years ago. The only light cast most of his features in shadow. Ryan was struck with the desire to see him in the sun.

“Gavin,” Ryan breathed, and yes, he remembered. Most of it, at least -so much was a blur, the time his consciousness was buried under the Dark God’s, but there were moments. Attacking Geoff, battling Michael, wilting Jack’s farm. He’d chased Jeremy from his altar, and Gavin-

“Gavin,” Ryan said again, and nearly overbalanced in his desperation to reach for him.

But Gavin was there, keeping him upright, holding his shoulders and looking down on him with a kind smile. It seemed so strange, and Ryan could only think that it had been so long since he’d seen Gavin smile, and he seemed so different, more sure of himself. How long had it been? Ryan clutched at Gavin’s arms as he searched his mind, looking for any sign that he might be forced back under again.

The Dark God was gone. Ryan was free.

“Gavin,” Ryan croaked, and this time Gavin laughed. “My head… there’s nothing…”

“Always figured your brain was empty, lovely Ryan,” Gavin said, and Ryan nearly sobbed. Here was Gavin, laughing with him, talking with him, after who knew how long-

After all he’d  _done_ -

“The others,” Ryan realised, new panic gripping his chest. He and Gavin were alone. “Gav, the others- did I-”

“You didn’t do anything, lovely Ryan,” Gavin assured him lightly, one hand stroking through his hair. “The others are safe. They’ll always be safe.”

Ryan frowned, confused, but Gavin’s calm seemed contagious. He only wanted to lay his head against the other’s chest, rest until things made sense again. Still, he had questions, and even with his head pounding, he needed answers.

“You saved me,” Ryan said, and Gavin beamed, and Ryan had been afraid he’d never see that expression again. “How? How did you get rid of… that thing?”

Gavin laughed again, a sharp, clear sound that seemed to ring away the rest of the dust that had settled over Ryan’s mind.

“Not sure what you’re talking about, lovely Ryan,” Gavin told him with a sweet smile, and Ryan wasn’t sure if the vice he felt around his heart was real or imagined. “I’m right here.”

“No,” Ryan whispered. He wanted to scream it, but he could barely make a sound around the lump in his throat.

Gavin -Gavin’s body- leaned forward to give Ryan a light kiss on the forehead, hands moving from his shoulders to embrace him. Gavin -he still felt warm, but for the first time Ryan looked into his eyes, and he didn’t see Gavin there. It was the same green he’d looked into so many times, but flat. Shallow. No light in them. “ _No_.”

“You were a wonderful host, lovely Ryan,” Gavin told him. Their foreheads touched, and Ryan felt the breath of the words against his face, trapped staring into those eyes. The image blurred for a moment. He thought he might be crying. “But I couldn’t resist a change of pace.”

“Leave him alone,” Ryan croaked, and fear helped him find his voice. “Get out of him-”

“It’s been so long since I’ve had a willing host, lovely Ryan,” Gavin said, and he sounded so damn _happy_ , so different from how he’d been when puppeteering Ryan around. “It’s such a nice feeling, to be accepted so wholly. Even those who wanted power from me fought when they realised what it entailed, but it’s so wonderful with him…”

“He wouldn’t,” Ryan snapped over Gavin’s dreamy sigh. “Gavin  _wouldn’t_.”

Ryan wanted to fight back against the embrace, sickened by the tenderness from what was so completely not Gavin. But he found himself holding tighter to the arms around him. He needed to know, needed to understand, needed to undo-

“He made a deal first. Traveled here on his own, begged an audience like a good subject. And you know I keep my word,” Gavin shrugged, gently tugging on Ryan’s hair to force his face upwards. “It’s not that I didn’t enjoy having you as a vessel, lovely Ryan. But he’s kept his word too, and it’s so quiet when there’s not another consciousness fighting yours. So peaceful.” Gavin grinned. “Like there’s no more mosquitoes.”

“What deal?” Ryan demanded, even though he had a sinking suspicion that he knew.

“Leave you, first of all.” And there they were, the words that made the tears spill. Gav- the Dark God cooed, and moved one hand to wipe them away. “Didn’t you want to be free, lovely Ryan?”

He wasn’t expecting an answer. Ryan wasn’t sure he could give one.

“And he didn’t want his friends hurt either. He made me swear to never harm any of you, and I won’t.” The Dark God leaned forward until he was whispering into Ryan’s ear, the words spoken too softly for what they meant. “The others are all locked up in the castle. They’re fed and safe and together, and they’ll never escape.

"You’ll be joining them soon. But it felt wrong not to say goodbye, lovely Ryan.”

Ryan grabbed Gavin’s shoulders, and roughly pushed him away so that their eyes could meet properly, so Gavin could see the desperation on his face, in his grip. He knew the Dark God could destroy him for it, but with the deal he could he bold, and it wasn’t like it mattered anyway, not with Gavin like this, not when Ryan had ruined  _everything_ -

“You can’t just give up,” Ryan pleaded. He never let his grip slacken, even though the Dark God made no move to get away, even though it would make no difference if he did. “Gavin, please, don’t do this-”

Gavin’s expression shifted -but only from quiet affection to fond amusement.

“It is done, lovely Ryan, and besides,” the Dark God shrugged, idly twirling a strand of Ryan’s hair around his finger, “he can’t hear you.”

Ryan’s stomach dropped, and the Dark God shook his head gently.

“Nothing so morbid, lovely Ryan. He sleeps,” the Dark God told him, and the  _tone_  he used talking about Gavin, like he was some sort of beloved  _pet._ It made Ryan’s stomach turn. “He was so tired, you see. He’d been worried about you for so long, and he’s had to worry about his friends, and you trying to kill them and them trying to kill you… he’s more at peace now than he has been in weeks." 

Ryan wished he thought the Dark God was lying.

"Please, no,” Ryan whispered. He didn’t know what else to do. “You can come back -I’ll make the same deal, leave him and leave the others alone-”

To his dismay, the Dark God laughed.

“I know you’ll miss me. And what we had was special. But you’ll have your other friends to keep you company, and I promise I’ll visit.” Ryan began to feel the tug in his stomach that he recognised as a teleportation spell, and the room began to twist at its edges.

“Gavin,” he pleaded, one last time, desperate-

“Don’t worry, lovely Ryan,” the Dark God said as his vision faded, “I’ll take good care of him.”


End file.
